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Topic Review (Newest First)

11-21-2012 01:49 AM

bluestems

They may be. I know for sure two of the original three are not Amanos. I have added some that I recently picked up from the Greater Seattle Aquatics Society, and even though these amanos are adults, it's now easier to see the differences between them when side by side.

The one baby amano now hangs out with the new troop of Amanos. All the shrimp seem to be doing well. I just cleaned the tank and counted both bee shrimp, the two Maylan? shrimp and the new amanos. I guess as long as everyone is getting along and thriving, I'm assuming there's no issues with keeping them together...?

11-18-2012 11:01 PM

Soothing Shrimp

Just looked up Malayan Shrimp. They are very new to the hobby and still very rare. You maybe correct on the ID.

*sigh* again... They were not breeding in my tank. I don't know if the guy's pond was slightly brackish or not, but they were reproducing in his ponds and I'm pretty sure I know what Amanos look like. After settling, they turned back into their typical color and their markings showed better.

Those ponds would have to be pretty salty, at least halfway to oceanic salinity, for Amanos to successfully complete their life cycle in them (probably 17 ppt upwards, which adults can tolerate but is on the low end for good zoeal survival). That sounds unlikely unless he made an effort to intentionally maintain them that way.

It's kind of a moot point because that's hardly my only reason for saying they're not Amanos. Let's focus on the clearest shot, which luckily is of an ovigerous female:

(1) The rostrum is far too long to be that of an Amano, which would only make it a little bit past the orbital margin. This is an immediate giveaway and a reliable diagnostic character (given how invariable this is within this species). The limb diameter is more slender than is normal in Amanos.

(2) If I'm seeing this photo correctly, the size of the eggs is far larger and their number far fewer than that of actual Amanos (and their coloration is also atypical). This would indicate that these shrimp have at least partial abbreviation of larval development (which needn't make it mysterious that they didn't successfully breed in your tanks -- they could well be like the Caridina sp. called "Malaya shrimp", where have a short planktonic period before the young settle down and become postlarvae. These planktonic stages don't require saline water, but are much more vulnerable to filter intakes and fish than would be young that immediately hatch out as benthic "miniature adults" ... pond survival would probably be better. And even fully-formed postlarvae aren't guaranteed to make it to adulthood in an aquarium setting.)

(3) I'm sure the patterning of your shrimp became more Amano-like (I'm guessing paler, with the dark dots a little more pronounced?) after a while, but what I see in the photos is frankly outside the range of natural variation for Amanos, under any conditions I can think of -- especially the cephalothorax, with its comparatively wide, continuous horizontal bands and absence of dark, discrete spots. Pigmentation of the the eyes is also much lighter than is typical of Amanos.

For comparison:

Now, this doesn't mean that the guy you got these from didn't purchase these as Amanos (and, as I've suggested above, they could well be breeding in his ponds even if they are freshwater). Mislabeling happens, and non-target species get into collectors' buckets or exporters' tanks. If you really couldn't distinguish these from what you bought as Amanos from another source, then possibly those were mis-ID'd too (but more than a few small atyids look "close enough" to similarly-sized Amanos at first glance).

mistahoo, those are definitely not Amanos, which would explain why they're able to breed in freshwater.

Yes, interbreeding is likely. I wouldn't keep them together.

At any rate, bluestems, you have something that's neither of these three things. Just keep an eye on your water parameters and continue to monitor how everyone's doing.

*sigh* again... They were not breeding in my tank. I don't know if the guy's pond was slightly brackish or not, but they were reproducing in his ponds and I'm pretty sure I know what Amanos look like. After settling, they turned back into their typical color and their markings showed better.

Sent from my spaceship using Tapatalk 2.

11-17-2012 08:15 PM

Veneer

mistahoo, those are definitely not Amanos, which would explain why they're able to breed in freshwater.

I don't mean to hack this post but so if it is Neocaridina denticulata that means they would interbreed with rili shrimp?

Yes, interbreeding is likely. I wouldn't keep them together.

At any rate, bluestems, you have something that's neither of these three things. Just keep an eye on your water parameters and continue to monitor how everyone's doing.

11-16-2012 11:44 PM

chunkychun

I do think amanos can have slight variation to their coloring. I have had a few from one source with a blue tint and then put it in two tanks, one with lots of tannis and it turn brown and other without and it return to normal color. so i think it must be the environment and food.

mistahoo - Those shrimp doesn't quite look like amano shrimps. Amanos have a distinct pattern dots and blotches. If they breed in your tank they are probably malawa shrimp. They could also be a different type of "algae eating shrimp". There have been a lot of mysterious "algae eating shrimp" being mixed in with amano shrimp shipments a lot this year. I've seen these shrimps a long with amano shrimp at lfs around here and they do look a lot alike. But if you look closer you can tell the difference.

Could be. They didn't breed in my tank though. They were breeding in the guy's pond. After settling, I couldn't tell them apart from my amanos. I don't have a pic of them when settled.

Sent from my spaceship using Tapatalk 2.

11-16-2012 07:00 AM

bluestems

I picked up 5 adult amanos at the GSAS auction last night. They are already going to town on the algae! The one of the three shrimp I purchased earlier that I was sure was amano is following around the new amanos. He's about 1/3 of their size, so cute.

Just saw one of the bee shrimp out and cleaning on the main rock. Sweet! The new amanos must be making the others feel safer, providing some training, or both. Love these guys!

11-15-2012 03:14 PM

Soothing Shrimp

You could be correct, aznartist34, however I breed Malawas and none of mine have looked like that.

11-15-2012 08:24 AM

aznartist34

mistahoo - Those shrimp doesn't quite look like amano shrimps. Amanos have a distinct pattern dots and blotches. If they breed in your tank they are probably malawa shrimp. They could also be a different type of "algae eating shrimp". There have been a lot of mysterious "algae eating shrimp" being mixed in with amano shrimp shipments a lot this year. I've seen these shrimps a long with amano shrimp at lfs around here and they do look a lot alike. But if you look closer you can tell the difference.

I have no clue about the coloration of them. I always thought they were only one color, but after getting those, I know they can change colors. I lost them because of my lamp... I was passed out and my lamp fell into the tank causing it to overheat. They all died and I barely saved my fish in time

Sent from my spaceship using Tapatalk 2.

wow, I guess it's a good thing no fish/you were electrocuted.

Haven't seen the orangish shrimp since taking the pics, but he's not out often. I did find a clean, clear molt! That would be the first since getting these guys last week. I think that's a good sign that at least the parameters are doing ok...?

11-14-2012 02:42 AM

mistahoo

I have no clue about the coloration of them. I always thought they were only one color, but after getting those, I know they can change colors. I lost them because of my lamp... I was passed out and my lamp fell into the tank causing it to overheat. They all died and I barely saved my fish in time

Opae, as you probably know, is just the general Hawaiian word for shrimp. The animals in your pictures would be the Neocaridina denticulata (might now be N. heteropoda, depending on who you consult) that were introduced to Hawaii from East Asia. Same species as cherry shrimp.

I'm not that great with Asian atyids, but I don't think these are what OP has (body form reminds me more of a Caridina from the "bee shrimp" group).

At any rate, it's not uncommon for these non-target "contaminant" species to show up in shipments of Amanos, since they're all wild-collected.

I don't mean to hack this post but so if it is Neocaridina denticulata that means they would interbreed with rili shrimp?

11-13-2012 09:41 PM

bluestems

Thanks Rob & Veneer for confirming it's not a ghost shrimp. Amano or not, I hope it's not on its way out. There was some algae on the glass which made getting a clearer picture difficult. If it's environmental related, wouldn't the other shrimp be showing similar discoloration? Is there anything I can do?

mistahoo, I thought my Amanos looked different shades of colors when I first got them too. By the next day, two of them were out and looked clear so I thought I must have been wrong. Sorry you lost yours. Do you know why?

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